Avatar (2009)
Men have been burned at the stake for less sacrilegious things than I am about to say.
Avatar is an overblown Pocahontas story with Aussie accents and a splash of color thrown in to compensate.
There. I said it. Seriously, how did this movie get an 82% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes? To be sure, the visual effects are impressive (though I did not see it in 3-D). I get our fascination with digital graphics. I really do. However, effects do not make up for a plotline so old and tired it needs to borrow its main character's wheelchair during takes.
Yes, Sam Worthington is hunky and mildly swoonable as the paraplegic Space Marine who only finds himself in the Avatar program because of the untimely death of his genetically identical twin. I'm sure the box office hype from this movie will skyrocket him into being the next action hero, and I don't begrudge him that at all. (After all, he was on the short list to play James Bond before Daniel Craig was chosen. Don't even get me started on that one.) It isn't his fault the script sucks.
Yes, yes. I do know that there are only so many stories out there and that American cinema has pretty much exhausted them, but what separates a good script from a bad one is the writer/director's ability to add twists and surprises that don't come along with the standard story package. Cameron - in my opinion - does not fulfill this qualification.
Bottom Line: Ultimately, Avatar isn't a bad movie. It's just not a great one. It doesn't live up to the hype and unfounded praise I've read. The graphics are indeed cool. It'll entertain you and you'll probably even feel for the characters, but don't go into it expecting something totally new and amazing. Story wise, you won't be getting it. If you can swing the cash, see it in 3-D. It probably makes it all the more enjoyable.
Grade: B-
Oh, and James Cameron? If you wanted to direct the sequel to FernGully, you should have just asked.
